Chapter 1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
Renewable energies has proven as a great source for the past decades, and are currently
widely-used in industrial and household applications. Recently, a significant trend in the
production of renewable energy has been made via proposing several inventions, technical,
mechanical and material alternatives. Solar energy occupies an important part in energy
generation and scientific research, which seeks to increase and improve production. The
increase of energy consumption since the industrial revolution has led to concerns associated
with environmental impacts and resource depletion, particularly because most of the energy
originates from fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Fossil fuel depletion and global warming are
the two most important concerns for the sustainability of energy systems in the future. Energy
dependence, the limitation of fossil energy sources, and the negative environmental impacts
of fossil fuels have directed researchers towards renewable energy sources. Besides its other
benefits, solar energy, as a renewable source, is infinite and pollution-less. The government
started encouraging people to use renewable energy sources like hydro and solar. One such
example of renewable energy is solar power. Solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible
source of energy. Besides its other benefits, solar energy, as a renewable source, is infinite
and pollution-less. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which are well known for their structure
and low maintenance costs. Solar cells convert direct sunlight into direct current through the
photovoltaic effect. A solar tracker is a device used for orienting a photovoltaic array solar
panel or for concentrating solar reflector or lens toward the sun. A Solar tracker is a system or
device that orients various photovoltaic and solar thermal panels toward the sun. It ensures
that the direct beam from the sun is incident normal to the surface of the panels at all times.
Installing a solar tracker to a solar system proves to be more efficient than a stationary solar
system in terms of power generation. Thus our main aim of this project is to provide an
efficient way of tracing the maximum sunlight source to power the solar panel. The stationary
solar panel provides less output compared to the dual axis solar tracking. The single axis
tracking tracks the sunlight source in only one direction, either up to down or left to right.
Comparing with these two systems, the dual axis tracking gives more efficient output than the
other two systems. There are some sensors included with this work as part of sensory unit.
The LDR, Temperature sensor, Humidity sensor and Dust sensor were used as the input from
sensory unit. For control unit, we use Arduino Uno. NodeMCU used here as the Wi-Fi
module.
The solar tracking helps to increase the output from solar panel gradually. By doing
so there will be sufficient power to operate equipment within its limits. There will be
numbers of components placed to provide support of mechanical and software structure in
this design. The compact size of this structure allows it to be placed in any surfaces and easy
to move. Although the structure size vary according to the users’ applications.
1
LCD
LDR TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
SOLAR
PANEL HUMIDITY
SENSOR
POWER
SUPPLY
The dual axis solar panel uses specialized gear motor to operate the movements of
panel in different directions. Two gear motors used here, one gear motor is placed on the one
side of the solar panel (either left or right), the other motor is placed in the bottom of the
panel. These motors supports the physical structure of that panel and helps is changing the
directions according to the LDR input. The motor fixed in the side rotates its axis up and
down along with the panel clamped to it. Motor fixed in the bottom rotates the solar panel in
left and right directions.
As the block diagram shows that there are many input lines connected to the main
controller i.e., the Arduino UNO controller that performs the main task in controlling the
several parameters in this design. The LDR is placed in four areas of solar panel, the top,
bottom, left and right sides of the panel. The LDR plays a vital role by detecting the intensity
of the sun light. The information gathered form the LDR is sent to the Arduino controller. A
predefined value is set for the LDR through the Arduino. When it reaches the defined limit, a
signal is given from the controller to the motor unit.
The sensory unit contains the LDR, Temperature sensor, Humidity sensor, Voltage
sensor and Dust sensor. The Temperature sensor detects the atmospheric temperature near the
solar panel. It gives the gathered information to the controller. Similarly the Humidity sensor
detects and gives the gathered humidity value to the controller. The Dust sensor plays a vital
role in this structure. Dust form the atmosphere may affect the efficiency of solar panel. So in
order to avoid certain situations it is necessary to calculate and monitor the contamination of
Dust particle in the surface of solar panel. The Dust sensor gives the appropriate calculated
values from the solar panel and gives information to the Arduino controller. The Voltage
sensor provides the information about the panel voltage from the solar panel and it helps to
calculate the efficiency in no load condition of the solar panel.
2
The display unit contains the LCD display that provides the calculated values of
output from the Arduino controller. Here it displays the temperature value, humidity value,
voltage value and dust contamination value. The Wi-Fi module uses the NodeMCU
connected to the main Arduino controller. This provides the IOT application to monitor the
working of the solar panel from anywhere through accessing the internet. The IOT used here
provides high advantage in monitoring the Dual-axis solar panel design and its structures.
There will be enough power supply to operate the total project design. An adaptor is used to
supply 5v to the system design through the Arduino board.
Usually the solar panel output may vary according to the environmental conditions.
The solar panel in rooftops or any surface where the maximum sunlight gathered could be
fixed in certain angle and no rotation or movement will be in that solar panel. Solar panel gets
the best performance at a steep angle of 60 degree. In Single-axis mode, the solar panel
moves in either left and right or up and down. This will increase the performance of solar
panel slightly. In Dual-axis mode, the panel rotates in both left, right and up, down. This
condition increase the performance enormously and gives better output than any other mode.
3
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 A New Design of Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System with LDR sensors by Using the
Wheatstone Bridge Circuit
Mahdi saeedi, Reza Effatnejad, 2021 The sun moves from east to west during the
day and its radiation angle changes relative to the Earth in different seasons. So, the output
power of PV panels changes as well. The output power of PV panels increases by being
located in a position perpendicular to the angle of the sun’s rays. This study aims to design
and implement a dual-axis solar tracker (DAST) to increase the output power of the PV
panel. This simple system has high efficiency and adjusts the PV panel based on solar
radiation by moving simultaneously on two axes. An analog controller is used for its control
system. DAST control system is a closed-loop system that uses Wheatstone bridge circuit
function along with light-dependent resistors (LDRs). A small DAST was designed and built
to validate the proposed system, the performance of which was verified. Based on the
experiments, I-V and P-V specifications were obtained. Finally, it was found that the output
power of the PV panel using solar tracker was higher than that of the fixed panel.
2.2 Automated Dual Axis Sun Tracking Solar Panels based on LDR and RTC Sensor
Md. Samiul Basir, S. M. A. Zawad Hossain, Saeed Mahmud Ullah, 2021 In this
paper, we propose an effective and efficient model of PV tracking system using solar incident
angle. Position of the sun determines how much sunlight would fall directly on a PV surface.
This phenomenon affects the amount of energy that would be converted into electricity.
Aligning the PV panel to a suitable angle would increase the rate of conversion of sunlight to
electricity. Determining solar incident angles helps in aligning a PV panel properly. In this
4
following model, we have calculated the solar incident angle for a longitude and latitude.
Calculated incident angles are grouped into twelve months by taking their average value for
each month. Then, these values are used in an Arduino based microcontroller to align the PV
panel to a particular angle at different times of the day. The calculated annual average
enhancement of incident solar radiation has been found to be 22%.
2.4 On the PV Tracker Performance: Tracking the Sun Versus Tracking the Best
Orientation
H. Fathabadi, 2017 In this study, a novel online sensorless dual-axis sun tracker
5
regulated by the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) unit is proposed. The MPPT
controller continuously calculates the maximum output power of the photovoltaic
module/panel/array, and uses the altitude and azimuth angles deviations to find the sun
direction where the greatest value of the maximum output power is extracted. Unlike all the
other sensorless sun trackers that operate as open loop systems, the proposed sun tracker is a
closed loop system which uses the actual direction of the sun at any time to track the sun
direction, and this is the contribution of this work. The proposed sun tracker has the
advantages of both sensor based and sensorless dual-axis sun trackers, but it does not have
their disadvantages. A photovoltaic system has been constructed, and it is experimentally
verified that the proposed sun tracker finds the sun direction with the tracking error of only
0.11° which is less than the tracking errors of other both sensor based and sensorless trackers.
An increase of 28.8%-43.6% in the captured solar energy depending on the seasons is the
main advantage of utilizing the proposed sun tracker. Unlike all the other sensorless sun
trackers, the proposed tracker consists of a closed loop system which uses only online data to
track the sun position. It was demonstrated that the sun tracker has the advantages of both
sensor based and sensorless dual-axis sun trackers, but it does not have their disadvantages. It
was also experimentally verified that the tracking error of the tracker is only 0.11°.
2.7 Design, Construction and Test of a Solar Tracking System Using Photo Sensor
Filippo Spertino, Fabio Corona, and Paolo Di Leo, 2012 Several feed-in tariffs are
now available for photovoltaic (PV) systems, and thus, the maximization of the productivity
is very important; this goal can be achieved by solar cell technologies with high efficiency
and low temperature losses, one axis or dual axis sun-tracking systems, proper cooling
techniques for PV modules in building integrated applications, master–slave (M–S) control
for the inverters in large grid-connected PV plants, etc. About the last item, this paper deals
with the advisability of the master–slave concept versus the centralized inverter layout. Here,
attention is focused on the influence of the installation site with its irradiation peculiarities,
the tilt angle of the PV modules, the efficiency curve of the inverters, and the number of
slaves. The simulated productions put into evidence energy gains up to 4% per year,
considering the only cloudy-day contribution. On the basis of these comparisons, the M–S
concept can be profitable if the number of cloudy days is sufficiently high, the tilt angle is
adequate, and the dc–ac efficiency curve is “well shaped.
6
CHAPTER 3
COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION
“Uno” means one in Italian and was chosen to mark the release of Arduino Software
(IDE) 1.0. The Uno board and version 1.0 of Arduino Software (IDE) were the reference
versions of Arduino, now evolved to newer releases. The Uno board is the first in a series of
USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform; for an extensive list
of current, past or outdated boards see the Arduino index of boards. The Uno is one of the
more popular boards in the Arduino family and a great choice for beginners.
The Arduino platform has become quite popular with people just starting out with
electronics, and for good reason. Unlike most previous programmable circuit boards, the
Arduino does not need a separate piece of hardware (called a programmer) in order to load
new code onto the board – you can simply use a USB cable. Additionally, the Arduino IDE
uses a simplified version of C++, making it easier to learn to program. Finally, Arduino
provides a standard form factor that breaks out the functions of the micro-controller into a
more accessible package
7
There are many varieties of Arduino boards that can be used for different purposes.
Some boards look a bit different from the one below, but most Arduinos have the majority of
these components in common:
Every Arduino board needs a way to be connected to a power source. The Arduino
UNO can be powered from a USB cable coming from your computer or a wall power supply
(like this) that is terminated in a barrel jack. In the picture above the USB connection is
labeled (1) and the barrel jack is labeled (2).
The pins on your Arduino are the places where you connect wires to construct a
circuit (probably in conjunction with a bread board and some wire. They usually have black
plastic ‘headers’ that allow you to just plug a wire right into the board. The Arduino has
several different kinds of pins, each of which is labelled on the board and used for different
functions.
GND (3): Short for ‘Ground’. There are several GND pins on the Arduino, any of
which can be used to ground your circuit.
5V (4) & 3.3V (5): As you might guess, the 5V pin supplies 5 volts of power, and the
3.3V pin supplies 3.3 volts of power. Most of the simple components used with the Arduino
run happily off of 5 or 3.3 volts.
Analog (6): The area of pins under the ‘Analog In’ label (A0 through A5 on the UNO)
are Analog In pins. These pins can read the signal from an analog sensor (like a temperature
ensor) and convert it into a digital value that we can read.
Digital (7): Across from the analog pins are the digital pins (0 through 13 on the
UNO). These pins can be used for both digital input (like telling if a button is pushed) and
8
digital output (like powering an LED).
PWM (8): You may have noticed the tilde (~) next to some of the digital pins (3, 5, 6,
9, 10, and 11 on the UNO). These pins act as normal digital pins, but can also be used for
something called Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM).
AREF (9): Stands for Analog Reference. Most of the time you can leave this pin
alone. It is sometimes used to set an external reference voltage (between 0 and 5 Volts) as the
upper limit for the analog input pins.
Reset Button:
Just like the original Nintendo, the Arduino has a reset button (10). Pushing it will
temporarily connect the reset pin to ground and restart any code that is loaded on the
Arduino. This can be very useful if your code doesn’t repeat, but you want to test it multiple
times. Unlike the original Nintendo however, blowing on the Arduino doesn’t usually fix any
problems.
Just beneath and to the right of the word “UNO” on your circuit board, there’s a tiny
LED next to the word ‘ON’ (11). This LED should light up whenever you plug your Arduino
into a power source. If this light doesn’t turn on, there’s a good chance something is wrong.
Time to re-check your circuit!
TX RX LEDs:
TX is short for transmit; RX is short for receive. These markings appear quite a bit in
electronics to indicate the pins responsible for serial communication. In our case, there are
two places on the Arduino UNO where TX and RX appear – once by digital pins 0 and 1, and
a second time next to the TX and RX indicator LEDs (12). These LEDs will give us some
nice visual indications whenever our Arduino is receiving or transmitting data (like when
we’re loading a new program onto the board).
Main IC:
The black thing with all the metal legs is an IC, or Integrated Circuit (13). Think of it
as the brains of our Arduino. The main IC on the Arduino is slightly different from board
type to board type, but is usually from the Atmega line of IC’s from the ATMEL company.
This can be important, as you may need to know the IC type (along with your board type)
before loading up a new program from the Arduino software. This information can usually be
found in writing on the top side of the IC. This does the major work part in this system. It
plays the vital role.
Voltage Regulator:
The voltage regulator (14) is not actually something you can (or should) interact with
on the Arduino. But it is potentially useful to know that it is there and what it’s for. The
voltage regulator does exactly what it says – it controls the amount of voltage that is let into
the Arduino board. Think of it as a kind of gatekeeper; it will turn away an extra voltage that
might harm the circuit. Of course, it has its limits, so don’t hook up your Arduino to anything
greater than 20 volts.
9
TABLE 3.1 Technical specifications of Arduino UNO
10
3.2 Solar panel
A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power; most installations
contain multiple modules adding voltages or current to the wiring and PV system. A
photovoltaic system typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules, an inverter, a battery
pack for energy storage, charge controller, interconnection wiring, circuit breakers, fuses,
disconnect switches, voltage meters, and optionally a solar tracking mechanism. Equipment is
carefully selected to optimize output, energy storage, reduce power loss during power
transmission, and conversion from direct current to alternating current.
Solar trackers increase the energy produced per module at the cost of mechanical
complexity and increased need for maintenance. They sense the direction of the Sun and tilt
or rotate the modules as needed for maximum exposure to the light.
Alternatively, fixed racks can hold modules stationary throughout the day at a given
tilt (zenith angle) and facing a given direction (azimuth angle). Tilt angles equivalent to an
installation's latitude are common. Some systems may also adjust the tilt angle based on the
time of year.
The solar panel here used is 12V 10Watt which is Engineered with high-efficiency
polycrystalline silicon solar cells. This is the best quality solar panel found in a comparative
market with excellent performance even weak sunlight. It is Durable anti-eye enough to make
11
a unique processing panel, perfect for making solar robots and for using general solar panel.
3.2.2 Features
Material : Steel
Voltage : 12V
Dimensions : 34x28.5x2mm
Weight : 1.125gm
Best in Class conversion efficiency. Anti-reflective coating for more light absorption
optically, mechanically and electrically tested.
High quality solar panel with high efficiency and smaller footprint compared to our
regular monocrystalline models. An easy way to keep your 12V batteries topped up and ready
to go on your caravan, farm equipment, the spare car, or on the shed out the back. The dust
and weather resistant panel features a robust frame.
Geared DC motors can be defined as an extension of DC motor which already had its
Insight details demystified here. A geared DC Motor has a gear assembly attached to the
motor. The speed of motor is counted in terms of rotations of the shaft per minute and is
termed as RPM .The gear assembly helps in increasing the torque and reducing the speed.
Using the correct combination of gears in a gear motor, its speed can be reduced to any
desirable figure. This concept where gears reduce the speed of the vehicle but increase its
torque is known as gear reduction. This Insight will explore all the minor and major details
that make the gear head and hence the working of geared DC motor.
The DC motor works over a fair range of voltage. The higher the input voltage more
is the RPM (rotations per minute) of the motor. For example, if the motor works in the range
of 6-12V, it will have the least RPM at 6V and maximum at 12 V.
RPM= K1 * V, where,
V=voltage applied
DC Motor – 300RPM – 12Volts geared motors are generally a simple DC motor with
12
a gearbox attached to it. This can be used in all-terrain robots and variety of robotic
applications. These motors have a 3 mm threaded drill hole in the middle of the shaft thus
making it simple to connect it to the wheels or any other mechanical assembly.
300 RPM 12V DC geared motors widely used for robotics applications. Very easy to
use and available in standard size. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to control
motors with an Arduino or compatible board. The most popular L298N H-bridge module
with onboard voltage regulator motor driver can be used with this motor that has a voltage of
between 5 and 35V DC or you can choose the most precise motor diver module from the
wide range available in our Motor divers category as per your specific requirements.
Nut and threads on the shaft to easily connect and internally threaded shaft for easily
connecting it to the wheel. DC Geared motors with robust metal gearbox for heavy-duty
applications, available in the wide RPM range and ideally suited for robotics and industrial
applications. Very easy to use and available in standard size. Nut and threads on the shaft to
easily connect and internally threaded shaft for easily connecting it to the wheel.
13
Fig. 3.5 External structures of Geared DC motor
14
Fig. 3.7 DC motor Speed and load characteristics.
3.3.2 Characteristic of Speed and Load of Dc motor
The relationship between torque vs speed and current is linear as shown left ; as the
load on a motor increases, speed will decrease. The graph pictured here represents the
characteristics of a typical motor. As long as the motor is used in the area of high efficiency
(as represented by the shaded area) long life and good performance can be expected.
However, using the motor outside this range will result in high temperature rises and
deterioration of motor parts.
If voltage in continuous applied to a motor in a locked rotor condition, the motor will
heat up and fail in a relatively short time. Therefore it is important that there is some form of
protection against high temperature rises. A motor's basic rating point is slightly lower than
its maximum efficiency point.
Load torque can be determined by measuring the current drawn when the motor is
attached to a machine whose actual load value is known. We will select the most suitable
motor for your application after receiving your information.
RPM: 300.
Torque: 2 kg-cm
15
Everything in one box
Easy to control
Mounting
Durability
Robust
3.3.6 Applications
DC gear motors are used primarily in automotive applications such as power winches
on trucks, windshield wiper motors and power seat or power window motors. Jacks, cranes,
lifts, clamping, robotics, conveyance, and mixing are just some of the applications
gearmotors are used for in industry. Gearmotors are an important component in a variety of
applications. They’re the adequate source of power many industries need for their equipment
to function properly. Multi Products can design, engineer and supply the gearmotors needed
for optimal performance, no matter the application. Geared motors can also be used in these
below devices:
Peristaltic pumps
Valve actuator
Damper actuator
Pitching machines
Oil skimmers
Gaming
Sporting equipment
16
3.4 DC Motor Driver
DC motor drives are defined as amplifiers or power modules that interface between a
controller and a DC motor. They convert step and direction input from the controller to
currents and voltages compatible with the motor.
Fig. 3.8 L298 2A Dual Motor Driver Module with PWM Control
This L298 Based Motor Driver Module is a high power motor driver perfect for
driving DC Motors and Stepper Motors. It uses the popular L298 motor driver IC and has the
onboard 5V regulator which it can supply to an external circuit. It can control up to 4 DC
motors, or 2 DC motors with directional and speed control
This motor driver is perfect for robotics and mechatronics projects and perfect for
controlling motors from microcontrollers, switches, relays, etc. Perfect for driving DC and
Stepper motors for micro mouse, line following robots, robot arms, etc.
An H-Bridge is a circuit that can drive a current in either polarity and be controlled by
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).
3.4.2 Features
17
Operates up to 35V DC
3.4.3 Pins
GND: Ground
5v: 5v input (unnecessary if your power source is 7v-35v, if the power source is 7v-
35v then it can act as a 5v out)
EnA: Enables PWM signal for Motor A (Please see the “Arduino Sketch
Considerations” section)
3.4.4 Usage
H-bridges are typically used in controlling motors speed and direction but can be used
for other projects such as driving the brightness of certain lighting projects such as high
powered LED arrays.
18
3.5 NodeMCU
The firmware uses the Lua scripting language. The firmware is based on the eLua
project, and built on the Espressif Non-OS SDK for ESP8266. It uses many open source
projects, such as lua-cjson. The prototyping hardware typically used is a circuit board
functioning as a dual in-line package (DIP) which integrates a USB controller with a smaller
surface-mounted board containing the MCU and antenna. The choice of the DIP format
allows for easy prototyping on breadboards. The design was initially based on the ESP-12
module of the ESP8266, which is a Wi-Fi SoC integrated with a Tensilica Xtensa LX106
core, widely used in IoT applications. There are two available versions of NodeMCU as
version 0.9 & 1.0 where the version 0.9 contains ESP-12 and version 1.0 contains ESP-
12E where ‘E’ stands for "Enhanced".
19
Fig. 3.10 NodeMCU ESP8266 Pinout
20
S3 S0 to S3: Data lines (Quad-I/O mode).
SK Serial Clock.
D2 GPIO4
D3 GPIO0
D4 GPIO2
D5 GPIO14
D6 GPIO12
21
D7 GPIO13
D8 GPIO15
UARTs: 1
SPIs: 1
I2Cs: 1
Flash Memory: 4 MB
SRAM: 64 KB
PCB Antenna
It uses a capacitive humidity sensor and a thermistor to measure the surrounding air,
and outputs a digital signal on the data pin (no analog input pins needed). It is very simple to
use, and libraries and sample codes are available for Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
It has high reliability and excellent long-term stability, thanks to the exclusive digital
signal acquisition technique and temperature & humidity sensing technology.
The single-wire serial interface makes system integration quick and easy. Its small
size, low power consumption and up-to-20 meter signal transmission making it the best
choice for various applications, including those most demanding ones. The component is 4-
pin single row pin package. It is convenient to connect and special packages can be provided
according to users’ request.
24
Fig. 3.12 Cross sectional diagram of DHT11 module
3.6.2 Specifications
25
3.7 LDR
The resistance of 20mm GL20528 Light Sensitive Photoresistor LDR changes with
the change in the ambient light exposed on the surface of the sensor. As the light on the
sensor increases then the resistance across the two leads decreases. Light Dependent Resistor
is a type of photocell which finds excellent use in light sensing device application, whether it
is automatic outdoor light ON/OFF switch or indoor automatic light switch; moreover, the
12mm LDR or photoresistor sensor works best in both light and dark regions. The photo-
resistor is a staple of electronics. If you need a way to sense the level of ambient light, then
there is no easier way to do it without an LDR/photo-resistor.
Two Cadmium Sulphide Photo Conductive Cells with spectral responses similar to
that of the human eye. Cell resistance falls with increasing light intensity. Applications of this
product include smoke detection, automatic lighting control, batch counting, and burglar
alarm systems. Furthermore, some of the applications are given below.
26
Fig. 3.15 LDR Symbol
Diameter (mm) 20
No. of Pins 2
Light Resistance 10 – 20 kΩ
Shipment Dimensions 4 × 3 × 2 cm
27
3.7.2 Types of photoresistor
Light dependent resistors, LDRs or photoresistors fall into one of two types or
categories:
Regardless of the type of light dependent resistor or photoresistor, both types exhibit
an increase in conductivity or fall in resistance with increasing levels of incident light.
3.7.2 Features
Good reliability
High sensitivity
Small volume
Fast response
Size: 20mm
Υ value : 0.6.
28
3.7.3 Applications
Densitometer
Nightlight control
Streetlight control
Annunciator
Electronic toy
Industrial control
Light control
29
3.8 Voltage sensor
This is a simple but very useful module which uses a potential divider to reduce an
input voltage by a factor of 5. The Voltage Sensor Module 25V allows you to use the analog
input of a microcontroller to monitor voltages much higher than it capable of sensing. For
example with a 0-5V analog input range, you are able to measure a voltage up to 25V. This
voltage sensor module also includes convenient screw terminals for easy and secure
connection of a wire.
This module is based on the principle of resistive voltage divider design, can make the
red terminal connector input voltage to 5 times smaller. Arduino analog input voltages up to 5
v, the voltage detection module input voltage not greater than 5Vx5=25V (if using 3.3V
systems, input voltage not greater than 3.3Vx5=16.5V).
Arduino AVR chips have 10-bit AD, so this module simulates a resolution of
0.00489V (5V/1023), so the minimum voltage of input voltage detection module is
0.00489Vx5=0.02445V.
3.8.2 Features
Output interface: "+" connect 5/3.3V, "-" connect GND, "s" connect the Arduino AD
pins
30
3.9 Dust sensor
This Dust Sensor gives a good indication of the air quality in an environment by
measuring the dust concentration. The Particulate Matter level (PM level) in the air is
measured by counting the Low Pulse Occupancy time (LPO time) in given time unit. LPO
time is proportional to PM concentration. This sensor can provide reliable data for air purifier
systems; it is responsive to PM of diameter 1μm.
DSM501A PM2.5 Dust Sensor Module can sense that tobacco smoke and pollen,
house dust, such as heating automatic suction device, adjustable resistance is set up to detect
the size of the dust. Using the same as the particle counter principle as the foundation, to
detect the absolute number of particles per unit volume.
Length (mm) : 59
Width (mm) : 45
Height (mm) : 20
Weight (gm) : 25
3.9.3 Features
Operating Voltage: 5V DC
Weight:25g
32
CHAPTER 4
SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
The software part comes here uses the IoT platform to monitor the whole working
process of this project design. NodeMCU is a low-cost open source IoT platform. It initially
included firmware which runs on the ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC from Espressif Systems, and
hardware which was based on the ESP-12 module. Later, support for the ESP32 32-bit MCU
was added.
4.1 IoT
A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm
animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver
when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an
Internet Protocol (IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.
Although Ashton's was the first mention of the internet of things, the idea of
connected devices has been around since the 1970s, under the monikers embedded internet
and pervasive computing.
The first internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon
University in the early 1980s. Using the web, programmers could check the status of the
machine and determine whether there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they
decide to make the trip to the machine.
33
IoT evolved from M2M communication, i.e., machines connecting to each other via a
network without human interaction. M2M refers to connecting a device to the cloud,
managing it and collecting data.
Taking M2M to the next level, IoT is a sensor network of billions of smart devices
that connect people, systems and other applications to collect and share data. As its
foundation, M2M offers the connectivity that enables IoT.
The internet of things is also a natural extension of supervisory control and data
acquisition (SCADA), a category of software application programs for process control, the
gathering of data in real time from remote locations to control equipment and conditions.
SCADA systems include hardware and software components. The hardware gathers and
feeds data into a computer that has SCADA software installed, where it is then processed and
presented in a timely manner. The evolution of SCADA is such that late-generation SCADA
systems developed into first-generation IoT systems.
The concept of the IoT ecosystem, however, didn't really come into its own until the
middle of 2010 when, in part, the government of China said it would make IoT a strategic
priority in its five-year plan.
An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems,
such as processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data
they acquire from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by
connecting to an IoT gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be
analyzed or analyzed locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related
devices and act on the information they get from one another. The devices do most of the
work without human intervention, although people can interact with the devices -- for
instance, to set them up, give them instructions or access the data.
The connectivity, networking and communication protocols used with these web-
enabled devices largely depend on the specific IoT applications deployed.
IoT can also make use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to aid in
making data collecting processes easier and more dynamic.
The internet of things helps people live and work smarter, as well as gain complete
control over their lives. In addition to offering smart devices to automate homes, IoT is
essential to business. IoT provides businesses with a real-time look into how their systems
really work, delivering insights into everything from the performance of machines to supply
chain and logistics operations.
IoT enables companies to automate processes and reduce labor costs. It also cuts
down on waste and improves service delivery, making it less expensive to manufacture and
deliver goods, as well as offering transparency into customer transactions.
As such, IoT is one of the most important technologies of everyday life, and it will
continue to pick up steam as more businesses realize the potential of connected devices to
34
keep them competitive.
LiteOS is a Unix-like operating system (OS) for wireless sensor networks. LiteOS
supports smartphones, wearables, intelligent manufacturing applications, smart homes and
the internet of vehicles (IoV). The OS also serves as a smart device development platform.
Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) is a protocol for WANs designed to
support huge networks, such as smart cities, with millions of low-power devices.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT is a cloud computing platform for IoT released by
Amazon. This framework is designed to enable smart devices to easily connect and securely
interact with the AWS cloud and other connected devices.
Arm Mbed IoT is a platform to develop apps for IoT based on Arm microcontrollers.
The goal of the Arm Mbed IoT platform is to provide a scalable, connected and secure
environment for IoT devices by integrating Mbed tools and services.
Microsoft's Azure IoT Suite is a platform that consists of a set of services that
enables users to interact with and receive data from their IoT devices, as well as perform
35
various operations over data, such as multidimensional analysis, transformation and
aggregation, and visualize those operations in a way that's suitable for business.
Calvin is an open source IoT platform released by Ericsson designed for building and
managing distributed applications that enable devices to talk to each other. Calvin includes a
development framework for application developers, as well as a runtime environment for
handling the running application.
Connected cars
There are many ways vehicles, such as cars, can be connected to the internet. It can be
through smart dashcams, infotainment systems, or even the vehicle's connected gateway.
They collect data from the accelerator, brakes, speedometer, odometer, wheels, and fuel tanks
to monitor both driver performance and vehicle health. Connected cars have a range of uses:
Monitoring rental car fleets to increase fuel efficiency and reduce costs.
Connected homes
Smart home devices are mainly focused on improving the efficiency and safety of the house,
as well as improving home networking. Devices like smart outlets monitor electricity usage
and smart thermostats provide better temperature control. Hydroponic systems can use IoT
sensors to manage the garden while IoT smoke detectors can detect tobacco smoke. Home
security systems like door locks, security cameras, and water leak detectors can detect and
prevent threats, and send alerts to homeowners.
Smart cities
36
IoT applications have made urban planning and infrastructure maintenance more efficient.
Governments are using IoT applications to tackle problems in infrastructure, health, and the
environment. IoT applications can be used for:
Detecting maintenance needs for critical infrastructures such as streets, bridges, and
pipelines.
Consumer IoT - Primarily for everyday use. Eg: home appliances, voice assistance,
and light fixtures.
Military Things (IoMT) - Primarily used for the application of IoT technologies in
the military field. Eg: surveillance robots and human-wearable biometrics for combat.
Industrial IoT (IIoT) refers to smart devices used in manufacturing, retail, health, and other
enterprises to create business efficiencies. Industrial devices, from sensors to equipment, give
business owners detailed, real-time data that can be used to improve business processes. They
provide insights on supply chain management, logistics, human resource, and production –
decreasing costs and increasing revenue streams.
Manufacturing
Automobile
Commercial and Industrial IoT devices can help with supply chain management, including
inventory management, vendor relationships, fleet management, and scheduled maintenance.
Shipping companies use Industrial
IoT applications to keep track of assets and optimize fuel consumption on shipping routes.
The technology is especially useful for tight temperature control in refrigerated containers.
Supply chain managers make informed predictions through smart routing and rerouting
algorithms.
Retail
Google Home voice controller is one of the most popular IoT devices out there today. It
provides voice-enabled services like alarms, lights, thermostats, volume control and lots
more.
Amazon Echo Plus voice controller is another popular and reliable IoT device on the market.
It provides voice-enabled services like answering phone calls, setting timers and alarms,
checking the weather, and lots more.
August Doorbell Cam is an IoT device that allows you to answer your door from any remote
location. It constantly captures motion changes and suspicious activity in your doorstep.
August Smart Lock is a proven and reliable security IoT device that helps users to manage
their doors from any remote location.
It helps keep thieves away and provides an extra layer of security for your home.
38
5. Foobot
Foobot is an IoT device that can accurately measure indoor pollution. It helps to improve the
air quality in houses, cafes, workplaces, and other indoor public spaces.
The MQTT Dashboard utilizes the HiveMQ MQTT broker. You can use any MQTT
client or library to publish to the broker.
Testing and usage is for free but please do not use it for sensitive information because
everybody is allowed to subscribe to every topic, including wildcard. Feel free to play with
MQTT and the HiveMQ broker. Please consider to add a reconnect logic to your client
because we may update the underlaying HiveMQ instance at any time, so we cannot promise
100% uptime.
With our free, fully managed MQTT Cloud Platform HiveMQ Cloud you can create
reliable, scalable and secure MQTT cloud-broker clusters that are built for production. Sign
up and you are ready to connect up to 100 IoT devices at no cost
Transferring data packets over a connected network saving time and money; and
Automating tasks helping to improve the quality of a business's services and reducing
the need for human intervention.
Enterprises may eventually have to deal with massive numbers -- maybe even
millions -- of IoT devices, and collecting and managing the data from all those
devices will be challenging.
If there's a bug in the system, it's likely that every connected device will become
corrupted.
Since there's no international standard of compatibility for IoT, it's difficult for
devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other.
The internet of things offers several benefits to organizations. Some benefits are
39
industry-specific, and some are applicable across multiple industries. Some of the common
benefits of IoT enable businesses to:
IoT encourages companies to rethink the ways they approach their businesses and
gives them the tools to improve their business strategies.
IoT can benefit farmers in agriculture by making their job easier. Sensors can collect
data on rainfall, humidity, temperature and soil content, as well as other factors, that would
help automate farming techniques.
The ability to monitor operations surrounding infrastructure is also a factor that IoT
can help with. Sensors, for example, could be used to monitor events or changes within
structural buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. This brings benefits with it, such as cost
saving, saved time, quality-of-life workflow changes and paperless workflow.
A home automation business can utilize IoT to monitor and manipulate mechanical
and electrical systems in a building. On a broader scale, smart cities can help citizens reduce
waste and energy consumption.
IoT touches every industry, including businesses within healthcare, finance, retail and
manufacturing.
40
CHAPTER 5
In terms of solar tracking system there are two major theories to trace the sun, which are by
using sensors generally (LDR) to get sun paths or by using Arduino UNO and IoT . Using
sensors are very precise but it has a major drawback, in the rainy days the sensors failed trace
the sun paths accurately even sometimes very cloudy days the tracker failed to move. Using
mathematical systems on a sunny day are not very precise with compared to sensors but it has
a major advantage, its performance acceptable on cloudy days. Both techniques used in our
project, this is why our project can run in both modes ARDUINO UNO and IoT mode or
sensor’s mode dependent if there clouds or not. The microcontroller plays the vital role in this
design. The LDR is given a set value of 300 kΩ. The excited intensity value above the set
value caused by the introduction of light, causes the geared DC motor to rotate. The high
intensity in particular LDR sensor makes the motor unit to work in precise directions
accordingly.
Fig. 5.1 Result 1 from mobile Fig. 5.2 Result 2 from mobile
41
Fig. 5.3 Result 3 from LCD
Fig. 5.1 shows the readings of temperature, humidity, voltage from panel and dust
sensor value. Dust 1 is the LPO (Low Pulse Occupancy) rate. Dust 2 is the Ratio value
accumulated by the dust particles.
Fig. 5.2 shows the similar value after 20 seconds. The value varies after every 10
seconds by the Dust sensor.
Fig. 5.3 shows the temperature, humidity and voltage value displayed by the LCD.
Fig. 5.5 is the solar panel connections that will be connected to the Fig. 5.6 shown
above.
Fig. 5.6 is the board with connections consisting of sensory unit, control unit,
monitoring unit and display unit.
42
CHAPTER 6
In this project, a Dual axis Solar panel tracker system is presented. Arduino UNO and IoT is
used to regulate the maximal power point tracing algorithm, which is used in solar tracking
systems to maximize the Electricity output power. Dual axis gives ease of rotation of solar
panels. In the future, solar energy will be a very important source. So, using dual axis solar
panel tracking system can generate a huge amount of current practically. In this way, the cost
of the production can also be reduced. In a word, it can develop a high-power output in solar
panels to get huge amount of electricity at a low cost.
This project design can be implemented in large scale to available for industries. This type of
solar panels are the future of humans. As in remote areas electricity is yet to be introduced
Solar panels can be provided to the remote areas so that electricity can be used everywhere.
As solar energy is a renewable form of energy power will be generated by any means. Instead
of Arduino UNO we can also use Raspberry pie for the controller for more accurate and
precise output and also, we can maximize the efficiency.
43
APPENDIX
PROGRAM
#include<LiquidCrystal.h>
#include "DHT.h"
#define DHTPIN 7
LiquidCrystal lcd(8,9,10,11,12,13);
float R1 = 30000.0;
float R2 = 7500.0;
int value = 0;
#include<string.h>
byte buff[2];
float ratio = 0;
float concentration = 0;
44
const int motorpin3 = 5;
void setup() {
lcd.begin(16,2);
dht.begin();
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(19,INPUT);
pinMode(motorpin1,OUTPUT);
pinMode(motorpin2,OUTPUT);
pinMode(motorpin3,OUTPUT);
pinMode(motorpin4,OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);
starttime = millis();
lcd.clear();
lcd.setCursor(5,0);
lcd.print("WELCOME");
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("______________________________");
delay(2000);
45
void loop()
lowpulseoccupancy += duration;
endtime = millis();
ratio = (lowpulseoccupancy-endtime+starttime +
sampletime_ms)/(sampletime_ms*10.0); // Integer percentage 0=>100
int t = dht.readTemperature();
int h = dht.readHumidity();
value = analogRead(voltageSensor);
lcd.clear();
lcd.print("T:");
46
lcd.print(t);
lcd.print(char(223));
lcd.print("C");
lcd.print(" H:");
lcd.print(h);
lcd.print("%");
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print(" V:");
lcd.print(vIN);
delay(1000);
lcd.clear();
lcd.print("LPO:");
lcd.print(randomlpo);
lcd.print(" R:");
lcd.print(ratio);
lcd.setCursor(0,1);
lcd.print("CON:");
lcd.print(concentration);
starttime = millis();
Serial.print(t);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(vIN);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(randomlpo);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(ratio);
47
Serial.print(",");
Serial.print(concentration);
Serial.print(",");
Serial.println();
delay(1000);
void motor1_forward()
digitalWrite(motorpin1,HIGH);
digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);
delay(100);
void motor1_reverse()
digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin2,HIGH);
delay(100);
void motor1_stop()
digitalWrite(motorpin1,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin2,LOW);
void motor2_forward()
digitalWrite(motorpin3,HIGH);
48
digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);
delay(100);
void motor2_reverse()
digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin4,HIGH);
delay(100);
void motor2_stop()
digitalWrite(motorpin3,LOW);
digitalWrite(motorpin4,LOW);
49
REFERENCES
50